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Ashley Wall walks the runway at the Loft Fashion Show during theCURVYcon Powered By Dia&Co (Getty Images).

Virginia-based Wall brought support along for her casting call. “I auditioned yesterday with my friends, and that’s how I ended up here,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Wall came to New York City to attend TheCurvyCon, so landing one of three spots for novice models in the LOFT show was the icing on top of her weekend. “At first I was full of nerves, and then it just went away — I saw the lights, and I felt the energy of the crowd cheering us on, and it was amazing,” she says about her runway experience. “Now that it’s over I just feel like I can take over the world. I’ve accomplished something I never thought in my wildest dreams I would do.”

Amber McCulloch walks the runway at the Loft Fashion Show during theCURVYcon Powered By Dia&Co (Getty Images).

The crowd cheered in support of every single model that graced the runway, which made for an empowering moment — especially for the newcomers who were shaking off nerves. “They helped me get down the runway,” gushed Wall.

For McCulloch, who was attending the event for the third time, it gave her a sense of happiness to hear the crowd’s support. “I was full of joy just being there,” she says of walking the runway. “But the crowd’s energy was overwhelming, and that support really pumps you up. I was grinning from ear to ear.” Pugh said the audience support made her runway debut much less intimidating than she imagined. “It was exhilarating and so much fun,” she says. “It was so beautiful to feel so much love from the crowd. It was a great experience, and I would definitely do it again.”

Gess Pugh walks the runway at the Loft Fashion Show during theCURVYcon Powered By Dia&Co (Getty Images).

Yahoo Lifestyle will live-stream theCURVYcon 2018 on Friday, Sept. 7, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bookmark this link to tune in!